Greg and Cindy Jones invited us to watch the Antares Rocket Launch, an Orbital Sciences expendable launch system used to bring the Cygnus spacecraft and supplies to the International Space Station. We were a couple miles away, so the pictures aren’t as clear as can be, but to see this takeoff was a really cool […]
Battle of Bull Run Reenactment The Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas, took place in July 1861 and marked the first major land engagement of the American Civil War. Fought in northern Virginia near a small stream called Bull Run, the battle demonstrated that the conflict would be longer […]
Battle of Bull Run Reenactment — Union Encampment Union encampment reenactments interpret the conditions experienced by northern volunteer soldiers who participated in early Civil War campaigns. The Union army assembled in 1861 included regiments formed rapidly in response to the outbreak of conflict, many composed of individuals with limited prior military experience. Encampments served as […]
Battle of Bull Run Reenactment — Confederate Encampment Reenactments of Confederate encampments illustrate the organization of military life during the Civil War, when volunteer soldiers formed temporary communities structured around discipline, supply, and readiness for combat. The Confederate army that fought at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 consisted largely of newly […]
Battle of Bull Run Reenactment — Sutlers Row Sutlers Row recreates the commercial environment that accompanied nineteenth-century military encampments, where civilian merchants supplied soldiers with clothing, equipment, writing materials, and other personal necessities. During the Civil War, sutlers operated as licensed vendors attached to military units, providing goods not issued by the army but essential […]
Shenandoah Skyline Drive Skyline Drive follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through Shenandoah National Park, creating one of the most significant scenic roadways in the eastern United States. Constructed as part of the early development of the park, the route was designed to reveal the mountain landscape gradually through a sequence of overlooks, […]
Luray Caverns Luray Caverns preserves one of the most extensive cave systems in the eastern United States, formed through long geological processes within the limestone bedrock of the Shenandoah Valley. Over time, slightly acidic groundwater dissolved underlying rock and created a network of chambers, passages, and mineral formations beneath the valley floor. Stalactites, stalagmites, columns, […]
Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival reflects the agricultural history of the Shenandoah Valley, where orchards, fertile limestone soils, and a temperate climate supported the long development of apple cultivation. The valley’s broad agricultural landscape helped shape settlement patterns and regional identity, linking small towns and farming communities through seasonal cycles of […]
The Homestead Resort The Homestead Resort developed in the Allegheny Mountains of western Virginia around a series of natural hot springs that have attracted visitors for centuries. The mineral springs were known to Indigenous communities long before European settlement, and by the late eighteenth century the area had become a destination associated with health, leisure, […]
George Washington National Forest — Elizabeth Furnace The Elizabeth Furnace area of George Washington National Forest preserves the remains of a nineteenth-century iron furnace set within the forested landscape of the Shenandoah Valley. Established in 1836, the furnace used locally mined iron ore, limestone, timber, and waterpower from Passage Creek to produce pig iron that […]